Combat veterans who came home only to fight a NEW battle over healthcare in Hawaii got a chance for a face-to-face time with Senator Mazie Hirono today... KITV4's Roger Mari was there for Hirono's first senate committee meeting on Veterans Affairs. THESE VETS HAVE SEEN COMBAT IN SOME OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES ON EARTH... BUT TODAY THEIR WAR STORIES WERE ABOUT GETTING HELP IN THEIR HOMELAND. HAWAII ARMY NATIONAL GUARD CAPTAIN ELISA SMITHERS SERVED IN IRAQ AND KUWAIT. SHE SUFFERED A SPRAINED BACK, CONCUSSIONS AND A PELVIC FRACTURE. TRYING TO GET TREATMENT UPON HER RETURN WAS JUST AS PAINFUL. 31:28 - 31:42 "I received a letter stating I was accepted into the VA system and that I had only a couple months left for particular services. I was so disgruntled, I tore up the letter and threw it away." HAWAII'S V-A WAIT TIMES WERE ONCE THE WORST IN THE COUNTRY ... THE VA PACIFIC ISLANDS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IS WORKING TO IMPROVE THAT... FOCUSING ON BETTER SCHEDULING AND COORDINATION. 58:58 - 59:09 "Probably the best in the country efforts working with our office of rural health to find ways of improving the ability to move patients between islands." WITH VETERANS LIVING THROUGHOUT THE STATE, MUCH OF TODAYS HEARING FOCUSED ON GETTING TIMELY HEALTH CARE ACCESS. MOLOKAI HAS ONLY ONE VET CENTER, THE BIG ISLAND HAS 2 FOR HILO AND KONA. 35:06 - 35:11 "We have 2 doctors on the island, 75-miles apart and there's no way they can service these veterans." 24:21-24:33 "once you get to Oahu depending on your ablity to use transportation service to get to Tripler Army Medical Center, that takes some reimbursement, there's a substantial lag time WHILE MANY VETERANS HAVE HAD BAD EXPERIENCES OTHERS UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES. 17:53 - 18:02 "Once the veterans get into the system, we have some of the best doctors in the world and I think tripler hospital is doing a tremendous job." IT MIGHT TAKE TIME BUT TODAYS HEARING IS DESIGNED TO BE THE FIRST STEP IN HELPING VETERANS GETTING THE TREATMENT THEY DESERVE. ROGER MARI KITV 4 NEWS. In conjunction with todays hearing, V-A in Hawaii is scheduling a town meeting at the Oahu vet center on September

We've been watching what's being called the "greatest activation of Hawaiian people in more than 100 years." But could a new movement designed to unite those people tear them apart? It’s something that critics of Na’i Aupuni say could happen.

Thousands of California acres are ablaze as firefighters battle at least 21 wildfires throughout the state, but while many of those fires are small or mostly contained, the wind and heat that are spreading the Rocky Fire in Northern California -- and...